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Southeast Europe
October 13, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 16
microphone at informal events, usually to belt out popular local songs.
The efforts have already paid off to some extent, with the signing of a declaration to create a joint high council for cooperation, followed up by a raft of 11 cooperation agreements spanning numerous sectors of the economy and the cultural sphere.
According to the Serbian government’s statement, the two countries signed a revised free trade agreement, and agreements to cooperate in areas
Bulgarian Deputy PM Simeonov under pressure to quit after threat to journalist
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov is under heavy pressure to step down after he verbally threatened popular talk show host Viktor Ivanov in a live studio discussion.
In the government, Simeonov — who says he will not quit — has no real power as he is deputy prime minister without portfolio. However, he
is the loudest of the three leaders of the United Patriots, a group of nationalist parties that be- came the coalition partner of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s ruling Citizens for the Euro- pean Development of Bulgaria (GERB) earlier this year. Whether he is ousted from the gov- ernment or not, the latest scandal involving the nationalist politician will most likely strengthen Borissov in relation to his coalition partners.
from energy, transport and education to forestry and water management.
Further deals were signed on the restoration
of the hammam at Golubac Fortress, the Brace Krsmanovic Baths in Belgrade and the Bayrakli Mosque, also in the Serbian capital.
From Belgrade, Erdogan went on to Novi Pazar, the largest town in the majority Muslim Raska region of western Serbia, known as Sandzak by its Muslim population.
Journalist protesters set out chairs in reference to a threat by fellow politician Anton Todorov who talked about the “empty chair” of a TV presenter who had delved into Bulgaria’s controversial judicial reforms.
Another politician embroiled in the same scan- dal has already submitted his resignation to the parliament. GERB MP Anton Todorov resigned on October 11 amid the popular backlash after he also threatened Ivanov on the same show for ask- ing “too many questions”.
Both politicians had been discussing the procure- ment of new fighter jets, already a highly con- troversial issue in Bulgaria, with Ivanov, the host of Nova TV’s morning chat show Hello, Bulgaria, earlier this week.
In response to a question on the procurement process, Todorov replied that Ivanov was
“using very strong words and they might cost
you your bread. They already cost the bread of your